Centralized Control of Wireless Sensor Networks for Real-time Applications

Wireless sensor networks are usually composed of autonomous nodes. Each networked node constructs its own neighbor table, routing table, and schedules internal tasks on its own. However, the inherently distributed control in a sensor network conflicts with the deterministic requirements when we develop real-time applications on top of wireless sensor networks. In this paper we argue for the case of centralized control in distributed wireless sensor networks. We first describe the characteristics of wireless sensor networks and real-time applications. Then we explain the gap between the demand and supply. We back our arguments with some tentative simulation results. The idea of running real-time applications over wireless sensor networks is motivated by WirelessHART, a standard to apply process control over wireless mesh networks. Not surprisingly, WirelessHART adopts centralized network management.